“If national debt was repaid at $1 a second, it would take over 440,000 yrs to pay off. RT if you want an END to Obama’s out of control spending!”

I just read this on Twitter from the handle: @RaisingRedAF , and couldn’t believe how bad things are.
Does anyone know if this statistic is accurate?

How can we ever pay off this much debt?

What happens if we default?

Who owns this debt, and how is debt created in the first place?

Please offer your opinions, & facts about this National Security issue for the United States of America.

“If national debt was repaid at $1 a second, it would take over 440,000 yrs to pay off. RT if you want an END to Obama’s out of control spending!”

(This opinion piece was received via e-mail. Please take a look at the Snopes review of this e-mail immediately following this column to try and fact check as best we can. Please use Snopes to review any information that comes via e-mail. This is a good column that makes some good points. BME)

Charley Reese’s final column for the Orlando Sentinel.

He has been a journalist for 49 years.
He is retiring and this is HIS LAST COLUMN.

Be sure to read the Tax List at the end.

This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican or democrat. Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. It’s a short but good read. Worth the time. Worth remembering!

545 vs. 300,000,000 People

– By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan .

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy”,”inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess.

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you. This might be funny if it weren’t so true. Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he’s fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for
peanuts anyway!

Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.

Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
Taxes to pass

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won’t be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He’s good and sore.

Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he’s laid…

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
‘Taxes drove me
to my doom…’

When he’s gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?
Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the heck happened? Can you spell ‘politicians?’

Snopes fact check of this article

(This article was sent via e-mail from a reader named: “DES”).

My uninformed take on the “occupy” protests:

— The rich and powerful (whether they work for the bank or the government) often need to be reminded that there’s a much larger class of non-privileged people that they share this country and world with. The rich have television networks, print media, radio stations, etc. to inform and affect the public consciousness. The rich have highly paid strategists and marketing people to formulate talking points. The rich have insider connections to get things done behind closed doors with those who can influence policy. The rich have the intellectual capital of how to rig the financial/regulatory system that they didn’t build, but have become whizzes at maintaining. This model – a tiny ruling elite presiding over the mediums that shape public policy and opinion for a much larger (usually under-privileged) lower class – continues to repeat itself throughout the course of human history. It’s well documented that right now, an extremely disproportionate fraction of people control most of the wealth in the world. This small group runs the show. And whether they use the government, a bank, religion, or an iron fist to wield their power, it always seems like the more power/wealth they get, the more they want. What may begin as a benevolent plutocracy, almost always defaults into tyranny. And given the nature of many wealthy/powerful people to be greedy to begin with, the tyranny commonly exists from the start.

So how do groups of less-privileged people make their voice heard when they disagree with the ruling class, but can’t access the TV networks or USA Today, and can’t get a behind-closed-doors meeting with their Senator?

Everyday Americans have it pretty good in this regard. In addition to what we see and hear in our everyday lives, most of us can also read and write, and have access to broadcasting mediums, libraries, newspapers, etc., giving us the tools and data (however skewed) necessary to form an opinion on how things should be run. And unlike less fortunate citizens of some other countries, we’re allowed to tell the government we think they could be doing better. So despite not controlling FOX “news” or the Wall Street Journal to spread our message, we can still write letters to congress, we can still vote for new representatives every 2, 4, and 6 years. Also in the modern age, we can post a blog or start a website, giving us more ability to share and disseminate ideas than any other time throughout history.

We as Americans should be thankful for this type of privilege to politically dissent. We also should push back harder if these regular channels of dissent aren’t cutting it. And if you don’t have the same opportunity to make your voice heard as do the rich/powerful, and letter-writing or changing your vote or calling your local AM radio station isn’t working, you have to use a more tried and true way to communicate with those forces you disagree with. One way to do that is physically stand in someone’s way.

People are struggling, and have been for a few years now. Sweeping reform of the financial/regulatory model was and still is needed, but doesn’t come. People are frustrated so much now that they’re showing their frustration with the government and big business through non-violent protest and otherwise civil disobedience. I’m all for it. Whether you think the problem is government or big-business or both, you have the right to say so, and a good old impassioned sit-in is all good in my book.

Will these people affect any change? I don’t know. But I’m glad they’re out there, fighting the good fight while I go off to work and continue to be a cog in the machine that I fear is fundamentally flawed but too big to change.

From The New American Media reader: “DES”

(Opinion piece received via e-mail)

A Real Eye Opener: WHY is the USA BANKRUPT?

Informative, and mind boggling!

You think the war in Iraq was costing us too much? Read this:

We have been hammered with the propaganda that it was the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us.

I now find that to be RIDICULOUS.

I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them.
I also have included the URL’s for verification of all the following facts…

1.
$11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state
governments.

Verify at: http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_immigrationissuecenters7fd8

2.
$2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC,
and free school lunches for illegal aliens.

Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.HTML

3.
$2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.

Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.HTML

4.
$12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally, many of whom cannot speak a word of English!

Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANscriptS/0604/01/ldt..0.HTML

5.
$17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as “anchor babies”.

Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANscriptS/0604/01/ldt.01.HTML

6.
$3 million dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.

Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/%20TRANscriptS/0604/01/ldt.01.HTML

7.
30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.

Verify at: http://transcripts.CNN.com/TRANscriptS/0604/01/ldt.01.HTML